The survivability of Mycoplasma meleagridis in frozen-thawed turkey semen

Semen from 15 turkeys was pooled and divided into two groups and diluted with glycerated freezing medium. One group contained naturally occurring levels of Mycoplasma meleagridis while the other was inoculated with a 24-hr culture of the organism. Both groups were frozen under identical conditions. Semen was evaluated for motility and life-dead analysis during various stages of cryopreservation. The number of viable mycoplasmas in both groups was determined prior to and at 1-, 2-, and 6-months frozen storage. The experiment was repeated twice. Semen motility and live-dead evaluation showed no apparent trends outside of the normal decline seen during various stages of cryopreservation. There was no significant decline in M. meleagridis levels in either treatment group in either trial when samples were tested at intervals up to 6 months. The naturally infected semen contained approximately 10(3) cfu/ml, while the inoculated semen had 10(5) cfu/ml. It was concluded that viable numbers of M. meleagridis do not substantially decline in turkey semen during cryopreservation and subsequent thawing. Consideration must be given to potential pathogens in turkey semen cryopreserved for long-term storage.